Power of the Press
by khooxp
Summary: Even the power of the press will succumb to the power of the Hiwatari. Hilarious one-shot with cute Tala/Kai friendship, Kai being too tired to function, Tyson's misleading comments, great news cover stories and more. Please RnR!


"Jesus Kai, look at you. You're a fucking mess," Tala rolled his eyes at Kai who had collapsed back onto the bed, hair and clothes a mess. "How the hell are you going to manage at the interview later?" Tala looked down at his troublesome tie and decided to go without, flinging it behind him without a care. He picked up the fresh coffee he ordered from the dresser and brought it to his friend.

Kai groaned something, muffled by the bed sheets. His bouts of insomnia had returned, and he had requested to share a hotel room with Tala, to the surprise of both teams. He refused to let anyone else see his weakened state, but he needed help. Tala knew the signs whenever it happened, so he was pretty alright with it. Kai's random night walks or room pacing didn't really bother him either.

"Get up," Tala nudged Kai's sides with his toes, but Kai didn't budge. "We have 15 minutes left, sleeping beauty."

"I wish," Kai sighed with frustration, flipping himself over and dragging himself to a sitting position. He took the coffee and drank it, pure black, but even then his eyes were starting to close. Tala clicked his tongue at the red and puffy eyes his friend sported, taking the ice pack he had ordered to place them on Kai. He knew all too well what to do now.

"Hold it yourself, you brat," Tala grumbled, and Kai weakly lifted his hand as Tala fussed about the closet to find clothes for Kai to wear for the day. Kai didn't even put up a fight as Tala stripped him and put decent clothes on him.

"Stand up you big baby, how else are you gonna wear your pants?" Tala scowled, and Kai just flopped from the bed onto Tala, making Tala take a step back from the sudden body weight. "Geez, how many days has it been since you slept?"

"Mm... maybe 3... I dunno..." Kai slurred.

"Then why don't you skip the interview? You look about ready to drop now," Tala raised an eyebrow as he struggled with Kai's zipper and buttons.

"The last time I did that they majestically fucked up the entire thing and we had media hounding us and the BBA for weeks because Tyson thought a sugar daddy was a nice man who gave you things for free, when it was just sponsoring, making Mr Dickenson come this close to pedophilia charges," Kai emphasized with his fingers close together, "This close."

"Well you suddenly seem a lot more awake," Tala chuckled, remembering how the headlines even reached Russia before Kai called in lawyers and a new press conference to clear up the whole thing and bring international attention to Tyson's lack of English knowledge. Kai sat back down on the bed as Tala lifted his feet to help him wear his shoes. "Come on, let's go. Can you stand up straight?"

"I'll survive," Kai said dryly.

They walked out of the hotel room side by side, Tala cautiously watching out in case Kai suddenly dropped dead. Rei seemed visibly relieved when the pair reached the lobby, because he had no faith in controlling Tyson's mouth or the situation. Once those words sugar daddy slipped out, the chaos from everyone present in the room left no space for explanations. And full security had to be called to bring both they and Mr Dickenson away safely.

"Huh, Tala's coming with us? I thought his interview with the Blitzkrieg Boys was in the evening?" Tyson asked instantly, because he never shut his mouth. Kai glared at Tyson, too tired to respond.

"Boys! Glad to see you're all on time, even Tyson," Mr Dickenson smiled approvingly. "But please, Tyson. Please, please think before you speak this time."

"Sorry about that, Mr Dickenson," Tyson said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Now, our transport is here. Let's get a move on, shall we, m' boys?" Mr Dickenson clapped his hands together and led the group of them out. "Tala, I really appreciate your presence here with us for the morning interview. Will you be sitting with them for the interview? I can certainly arrange for you to be a special guest."

"Sure," Tala shrugged, and instantly steadied Kai who stumbled, giving Kai a long look. Luckily, no one noticed it. Kai just nodded, showing he would try his best to stay awake even with his barely open eyes.

They boarded the minivan, and took the back seats. Once they started driving, Kai dozed off against the window, and Tala was careful to position his body to block Kai from everyone else's view as they chatted excitedly. The things he did for Kai. Kai flinched from the sudden strong sunlight that filtered in from the window, and Tala smiled gently when Kai scrunched up his nose in annoyance. He slipped his hand around Kai's shoulders and used them to cover Kai's eyes, pushing Kai to rest upon his shoulders.

The one hour ride seemed to fly past quickly, and soon they were starting to be ushered out one by one. Tala nudged the drowsy Kai awake, and they came out last to stand upon the red carpet.

"Woah, this is a really grand welcoming," Rei joked as camera flashes went off in the dozens. Tyson excitedly stood in front of everyone else, posing and making sure he was in the spotlight. Max timidly stood behind him, wearing an awkward smile and an equally awkward wave, no expecting so many reporters.

"Alright, let's hurry in," Mr Dickenson ushered. They followed his lead onto the staircase, and Kai trudged along with Tala next to him, slightly slower than the rest. His eyes were half-lidded, but everyone else attributed that to him being grumpy as usual because he never liked publicity stunts. Kai stumbled on a step, and Tala reached out to steady him again. The flashes went off again, excited for the interaction between the two rival team captains, who used to be from the same team.

"I'm okay," Kai muttered under his breath, pushing Tala's hand off from his shoulder.

"Look," Tala whispered back lowly, "Let me help you if you don't want to embarrass yourself. That's why you called me here, right?"

Conceding, Kai allowed Tala to put his arm around him in a friendly manner, seeming like a move of pure friendship and nothing else. Not because Kai was too sleepy to walk straight, no. They sat Tyson, Rei and Max in the front seats and Kai, Tala and Mr Dickenson in the back seats. The questions were pretty standard, about their most anticipated rivals, their feelings for the upcoming match, they way they trained etc. Kai had to step in sometimes to stop Tyson from revealing too much about their tactics, although Rei and Max also helped to keep Tyson's blabbermouth in check when he started to ramble on too much.

Then, the attention turned towards Tala. Everyone was curious why he was in the interview with the Bladebreakers. "So, Tala, may I inquire why you are here?"

"Kai invited me, because it takes two captains to keep Tyson in check," Tala joked with ease, his charisma drawing chuckles.

"Kai, Tyson complains that your training is too tough. What do you and the other members think?"

Kai blinked blankly when the mic was passed to him, processing the question a little slowly due to sleep deprivation. Rei took this chance to express his views first, "Honestly in the beginning, I was wondering why I had to listen to someone else my own age, but I sorely felt the difference when Kai isn't there. We really need someone firm to keep us all in check and make sure we don't neglect our training."

"I agree!" Max chirped. "Training was tough but I always see the results. Kai is a very good trainer who covers for all our weak spots."

"Hey guys, what will I look like if you guys talk like that? I wasn't the only one complaining!" Tyson grumbled, drawing lighthearted laughter again.

"Tala, you are one of the most anticipated rivals for the Bladebreakers, but you seem to have a close relationship with Kai. Can I ask about your relationship?"

"Oh, as team captains, we often discuss about training," Tala took the mic off Kai's hands, checking for his friend's level of sleepiness. It didn't seem good. "But I think it's mostly because we grew up in the same training facility. As most of you may know, even though Kai has Japanese heritage, he grew up in Russia with the Blitzkrieg Boys."

"And do the Bladebreakers get jealous about this?"

The odd question threw all of them off, but Tyson was very ready to answer. "I guess so! Kai can get very aloof and distant, and I have no idea where he disappears to on his night walks. He never tells us as well. It makes me feel sad because I want to be closer to Kai as a friend but he rarely talks to us first."

Kai's head gently dropped onto Tala's shoulder. Tala eyed his sleeping friend awkwardly, unsure to wake Kai up or not since everyone already noticed.

"Sorry, he's very tired because he has trouble sleeping recently," Tala clarified apologetically, shifting so Kai laid more comfortably.

"And that! Kai never lets any of us touch him," Tyson continued to complain, and the reporters were eating it up. Max was beginning to nudge Tyson's side not so discreetly for him to stop, while Rei was grabbing his hair and sending SOS looks to Mr Dickenson. Mr Dickenson signaled for them to cut the live broadcast.

"And since when has Kai had trouble sleeping?" The reporter asked.

"Kai-" Tala began speaking, but Tyson cut in with a loud voice

"I don't know, I just know that Kai specially requested to room with Tala instead of any of us," Tyson was clearly upset and feeling rejected, but he didn't know the true impact of all his words. Rei grabbed his face in a silent scream, and he exchanged wide eyed looks with Max.

"So, from what we can gather from today's interview, Kai used to go on a lot of secret night walks to perhaps visit Tala, and now that they share rooms, Kai is not getting any sleep and needs Tala's help to walk?!" The reporter gushed excitedly.

"Yes, well uh, no, wait... huh?" Tyson tilted his head in confusion.

"Oh my fucking god," Tala cursed in Russian. He started to shake Kai to wake him up. "Kai, it's getting out of hand again. Wake up, Kai. Come on guys, that's so far-fetched." He could just imagine the headlines, "Secret love between captains", "Rendezvous in the night", "Forbidden romance"... Fuck.

"Huh?" Kai blinked back into existence, staring at Tala's face. "Tala?" He whispered huskily, definitely not helping his own matters.

"Kai you goofball, Tyson's making us out to look gay!" Tala informed with frustration, pointing at the perpetrator.

"I did not!" Tyson gasped incredulously. "I didn't... right?" He gave a helpless look to Max and Rei, who both shook their heads in disappointment.

Kai looked awfully confused, before he sighed and made a logical deduction about the situation. "Look, I didn't sleep in the past 72 hours," he pushed a hand through his messy hair, "Because I suffer from insomnia and Tyson's elephant-like snoring. Now, I would fully appreciate it if you could end this fucking interview and not make up stories so I won't have to be stressed over clearing up idiotic rumors AGAIN." His forceful and loud voice caused silence to fall upon the entire room. He swept his glare at all the reporters, before glaring and scowling at Tyson, who was grabbing at his best friend Max in fear of Kai's wrath.

Kai's glare became increasingly sleepier, and then his eyes closed, and he fell forward, which Tala fully anticipated and caught him. Seeing the camera flashes, Tala sighed. There would definitely be another grueling interview with the Blitzkrieg Boys later, no thanks to Tyson. He took the car keys from Mr Dickenson with ease, and picked up Kai in his arms, throwing his blazer over Kai's face as a last attempt of protecting Kai's dignity. "I'll bring him back first, Mr D. We'll settle this when Kai is awake."

"A-Alright," Mr Dickenson stuttered in shock at Tala's authoritative tone and decisive actions.

Tala strode out of the room and the back doors, running to the van with Kai. He was caught on a few cameras, which Kai would have to deal with. Driving out of the area, Tala realized with a start that he didn't have a proper license. He could only hope that attention wouldn't fall upon that instead...

 ******linebreak******

"So, Tala, about that scene earlier-"

The Blitzkrieg Boys' interview had began in the night in earnest, with all the reporters having their own prepared list of questions. Ian didn't particularly care, he was playing on his handheld console and Bryan was watching. Spencer was watching his aggravated captain steam and grouch about the situation. Tala's phone rang, and he picked it up instantly without checking the caller ID.

"Yes, sleeping beauty, are you finally awake now? Do you know the amount of shit I have to deal with for you?" Tala scowled, and cameras instantly zoomed in once they realized Kai was on the other line. "What, 'How did the interview go'?! Kai, please check the internet and see what's trending..."

Tala fell silent suddenly.

"Aw Kai, no need to be sorry," this gathered a lot of attention because Kai was never seen apologizing. "Yeah, you could take your team of lawyers and sue for defamation of character, why not. Oh, 50-50 winnings? Sounds good to me."

This sent titters of fear instantly because that one media company that started to sugar daddy news had their entire 100 year history go down the drain into bankruptcy overnight.

"We could discuss this!" A reporter pleaded instantly, not wanting to lose his job. "We'll stop the press, we'll publish the words you want to say to clear up the situation!"

"What do you say, Kai?" Tala questioned with a smirk, feeling much better now that power was back in their hands. "Well, Kai's feeling generous so I guess you guys can keep your jobs. But you'd better watch yourselves in the future before you blow up every piece of news. Shall we go back to the real interview now?"

 ******linebreak******

"Welcome back," Kai greeted in his cocoon of blankets. His ruby eyes were glowing mischievously, much more alive than before.

Tala smirked back at him. "Way to abuse your power and frighten the masses again, Hiwatari."

Kai chuckled. "I'm not done yet," his eyes glowered darkly. "Just wait until I get to Tyson."

Tyson had plenty of nightmares that night, and that couldn't even rival the hellish training that was yet to come.


End file.
